It’s true. I bought a time machine. And I got it on e-bay. But let me begin at the beginning. It all started in my favourite East End flea market. I was browsing the stalls when I spotted some old stereoview photographs. Normally I’d pass them by, but these particular views reminded me strongly of the work of E J Bellocq, one of my favourite photographers. Clearly taken in the early 1900s, they feature slightly risqué images of women dressing or having an impromptu party at their college dorm.
Clothed in night dresses or under garments, they wear the fancy stockings so favoured by Bellocq’s...
If you're interested in finding out more about Storyville, the red light district where E J Bellocq took his series of images (see previous post), then read the article I wrote for the latest issue of Whore magazine. It's a really interesting new print magazine with a focus on high quality photography and writing. Issue 3 has only just been released.
Visit the magazine's Website for more info.
New Orleans photographer Ernest J Bellocq has been a major influence on my work. Bellocq was a commercial photographer active in the early part of the 20th Century. The photos featured here are a small selection of images from 89 glass plate negatives found in his apartment after his death in 1949. They are believed to have been taken around 1912 and feature prostitutes from the legalised red light district known as Storyville that operated in New Orleans between 1897 and 1917.
The negatives turned up in Sal Ruiz's antique shop around 1958 and were bought by Larry Borenstein (owner of the art gallery...